Students of the Month

Every month, several students are chosen as "Students of the Month." The selection is based on a variety of different things, from good performance on spelling tests, great reading, neat handwriting, improvement in behavior, being a good friend, etc.. Mrs. Giese comes to present the awards, and the students get a certificate to take home.

Our first award winners were Gavin, Von, and Sierrah.

Congratulations!!

Veteran's Day

Our local VFW presented a short program to the whole elementary school on Veteran's Day. We learned that veterans are people who have served our country in the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, and National Guard.

We all stood in honor of our flag as the veterans came into the gym.

We all joined in saying the Pledge of Allegiance.

The 5th grade choir sang for us, and we watched a slide show showing pictures of friends and relatives of people in our school who are veterans. Our principal, Mrs. Giese, who is a veteran, reminded us all to "Thank a Vet!"

Bugs, Bugs, Bugs!

It's that time of year again when the bugs are coming inside to warm up, at least they are at my house! Fortunately, the only bugs at school are of the paper variety, except for a stray box elder bug here and there. Our Language Arts story last week was a make believe story called "A Surprise for Zig Bug." The bugs in this story live in a hut, and they can swim, talk, play tug of war, and drink lemonade. We read about real bugs, too, and then we made our own. Don't they look great decorating the wall by the Bug Center?

At the Center, we can learn more about bugs by reading books, using a flip book, doing a puzzle, and making bug rubbings.

We learned that bugs have 6 legs.

They also gave 3 body parts: a head, thorax, and abdomen.

Some bugs have wings, and some don't.

Most bugs also have antennae.

Bugs have spots, stripes, and crazy colors.

Some bugs also have feeding tubes.

Some bugs even have stingers.

We worked so hard!

Our bugs were fun to make!

Happy Halloween!

We had a great day on Halloween (actually, the 30th)! We started the day by getting into costumes and showing off for everyone in the class. Then we began our 1/2 hour pumpkin activity sessions by working on pumpkin math and reading with Mrs. Bracken. We estimated the circumference of a giant pumpkin, and then read a mini-book about costumes and added a picture of ourselves on the last page. Then we headed to Mrs. Hjellming's class to play some pumpkin games. After that, we went to Mrs. Winchell's room to hear a pumpkin story and play pumpkin bingo. Our last session was in Mrs. LaPan's room where we learned about bats and made a bat hat. We ended the morning with a parade in our Commons with all of the first graders as we sang "Five Little Pumpkins." It was really fun to go to all of the classrooms for a special activity!
Here we all are in our costumes.

Don't we look great?

No one was too scary.

It's fun to pretend to be someone (or something) else!

We also had some visitors from the high school who came to teach us about Halloween Safety.

It was fun to see all of our friends in their costumes at the Halloween Parade.

We got into our regular clothes before playtime, and then continued with our normal routine in the afternoon. Thanks to everyone who brought treats, and for being on your best behavior on a very busy day!!

I invited the kids to come to my house for Trick or Treats, and took a picture of each little character by the pumpkin that we carved in class.

Gavin

Cole

Von

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkins

Fall has officially arrived (actually, it looked more like winter on Friday), so it's time to start decorating the room for....Halloween! The children had fun cutting out big pumpkins this week, and then adding shapes to make faces.

They all worked soooooo hard! Look for our Pumpkin Patch if you stop by school this week!

Happy Halloween!

Conferences

Wow! Last week flew by, and with shortened school days due to conferences, I didn't take any pictures, although we were VERY busy! Thanks to everyone who came in for conferences. I'm happy to report that we had 100% attendance! Yes, everyone came, and it was great to have a chance to chat and share information. Please do not hesitate to contact me by phone or e-mail if you have any questions or concerns!

Hopefully, all the kids will be feeling good after our short break. We had 4-5 kids gone each day last week, so the germs have definitely been making the rounds. Please remind kids to wash hands frequently, and to keep their fingers out of their mouths!

Fire Safety

The second week in October is Fire Prevention Week, and for as long as I can remember, the Cannon Falls firefighters have been coming to school to teach our students about fire safety. On Wednesday, we had a lyceum in the gym, and then the kids went outside to see the firetrucks.

The firefighters shared information with us about kitchen safety, home hazards, and what to do if clothing catches on fire .
STOP, DROP, AND ROLL!!

Then, we headed outside where they showed us the fire trucks and equipment.

The kids were great listeners!

There was a lot to see and hear!

The kids got to ask questions, too.

Firefighter Jeff (a former student of mine) showed us the fire rescue truck.

We also saw the "jaws of life." The fire rescue truck is very important in medical emergencies as well as fires!

We got to see the ambulance, too.

We are so fortunate to have brave firefighters in our community to help protect us and teach us how to be safe. Thanks to all the volunteers!